1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to software documentation and more particularly to the browsing/tracking of software development documents.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The validation of safety-critical software products (e.g., medical products, transportation) requires more carefully controlled design, testing, and reengineering than non safety-critical products. In software engineering, better control/tracking of software development documents such as test results and design specifications can improve the safety characteristics of developed products.
Validation is concerned with establishing and documenting that a product implements its specified functionality, as well as tracking the relationships between requirements, specifications, components, and validation artifacts such as problem reports, reviews and test data. For safety-critical products, validation also involves demonstrating to internal or external auditors that the traceability from requirement definitions to testing has been well maintained. Additional testing and reviews are usually performed for safety-critical software functions. An emphasis is placed on formal change control procedures and supporting documentation for changes. Documented evidence must be provided demonstrating adherence to validation and engineering procedures. The approach and results applied to software testing must be documented and tracked, including the rationale for the level of testing performed and the recording of specific "critical" data for test procedures.